Returning
by Somerlia
Summary: The one place she never wanted to come back to. The only place that held answers to their questions. He would rush off to battle, ready to save the land that had tortured them so from the newest threat and she would follow because he was Kurosaki-kun, her protector, and she was Inoue, his healer. [Contains spoilers of the newest arc. Multiple Pairings. Rated T for language]
1. Hollow Fight at Midnight

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach - not even the stuff that makes your clothes white sadly. _

**Hello, hello! It's been a long time since I've written anything like this and I'm super excited to be starting on my latest story! Funnily enough, this was supposed to be a one-shot, however, I got more ideas for it and decided to turn it into a story. So we'll see how that goes... That being said, the rating is T for language and such, though you should definitely let me know down the line if I get carried away and need to change the rating. This should contain spoilers to the beginning of the newest Arc (between 490 and 500) and I don't plan on following it canonically. **

**Other than that: enjoy!**

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**Summary:** Hueco Mundo had spelled danger to the minds of Ichigo Kurosaki and his friends after their previous encounter there, but with the threat of war hanging over their heads, they don't really have any choice but to investigate the happenings there. Of course Ichigo would run to the battle field and she would follow, because he was Kurosaki-kun, her protector, and she was Inoue, his healer. [Canon up to 490 or so]

**Returning**

**By: Somerlia**

**Hollow Fight at Midnight**

Orihime couldn't stand being back in Hueco Mundo.

She never thought she had the capacity to hate anything before, but staring up at the dark sky and the crescent moon, she could safely say: she _hated_ Hueco Mundo. The feelings it pulled up, the reminder of nightmares swimming in the back of her mind and this waiting, this watching, wasn't at all helping her get over it.

A shudder went through her, though at the curious look from her companions, she merely shook her head. No need to let on how much she hated and even feared being here.

From where they were hiding, she could see Aizen's old fortress perched on the highest dune of sand – huge and white with many turrets and very few windows. The place gave the appearance of peace, but the walls seemed to ooze a malevolent aura. The fact that was in ruins should have helped, but it did. The walls looking like that made her sick to her stomach, like if she stared long enough she would spot Aizen's ghost or Ulquiorra's ghost or a flash of the hollow.

Her arms tightened around her knees, chin dropping to rest between them and, before she knew it, she lapsed back into her thoughts.

"Orihime-san." She could hear them calling her, their voices acting ever-so-polite, but with an edge that she knew. A dangerous one that seemed to say that if she even uttered a wrong word, she would be dead and so would her friends. Her name had never sounded so wrong, just hearing it from their lips made it feel tainted, made _her_ feel tainted.

Oh, but hadn't she gotten over these feelings a long time ago?

"Inoue." None of them called her by her surname though. They only referred to her as 'Orihime-san', in a polite form of fear; 'Princess', as some form of insult, she assumed; 'Woman', as… something, perhaps an insult to her gender or maybe her name was just one he didn't care to say. She was called multiple things and horrid nicknames at the time, but Inoue had never seemed to be one of them.

Suddenly a warm hand was on her upper shoulder, squeezing it, and she slapped a hand over her mouth to keep from squealing in surprise. The hand tightened to squeeze gently again and in response, Orihime whirled around, hair flying into her face and poking her eyes. She brushed it back, locking eyes with her friends and noting the worried, yet confused, looks all of them seemed to wear. Save for Urahara, who wore a look of grim understanding on his face, the rest of them were staring with arched brows. They must not have understood. Why didn't they? Did they not remember what happened here?

Of course they couldn't though – it had been _seventeen months _and they were over it. Seventeen months and she was supposed to have been over it too.

She had thought she _was_.

"Are you okay, Orihime-san?" Urahara asked, taking his hand back from her shoulder now.

"Ano… I… gomen," She started, but her voice then trailed off into a murmur. She ran a hand through her auburn tresses, pulling them back from her face again as she tilted her body to watch the white fortress again for any activity.

This place was messing her up: her physically, mentally, and emotionally. She hoped whatever was happening around here would be fixed soon – she didn't know how long she could stand being here. Orihime bit her lip, glancing over at her friends; she know how long her friends would go without asking questions that she wasn't sure of how to answer without feeling pathetic.

It was completely quiet. Had she been thinking so long that they had fallen asleep? Just as she was about to turn and look at them again, Urahara sang, suddenly sitting underneath one of the dead trees, "Orihime-chan is tired! Perhaps someone else should take watch now? I volunteer Kurosaki!"

"Wh-WHAT?"

"Heh, well, you've been lazy and sleeping so-"

"I've been healing – healing people sleep when they have nothing else to do! Why don't you go do something, Getaboshi?!"

"Ano..."

"But I'm tiredddd." Urahara complained with a mischievous look in his eyes that neither Ichigo nor his companions noticed.

"Ano-"

"Too bad!" Ichigo retorted, preparing to shove Urahara in the direction when Orihime spoke up:

"I can continue watching. I'm sturdy! Not even tired! Well, maybe a little, but I can push on!" She lifted her fist to the air with a firm nod, but then let it drop slowly until her fingers were curled on her knees again. "And I've done so little so you should rest more, I'll… protect you!" Orihime trailed off, honey eyes wide as she stared at them. Hopefully they wouldn't make her sleep; they would just accept the peaceful solution and continue on.

It wasn't a question of if she would protect them because that an answer was obvious, but, rather, if she could. Could she protect them? Orihime wasn't the strongest of the bunch: she wasn't as strong as Sado-kun, determined as Kurosaki-kun, wise as Kuchiki-san, intelligent as Ishida-san, powerful like Urahara-san… She didn't have any of that, what could she possibly do to protect them?

Her eyes had diverted from them again, watching the fortress and seeing the place of her capture, of her nightmares gave her an emotion quite different than the fear she generally felt: conviction. It was giving her the strength to get stronger than that place, than the girl who had been taken and rescued from there. She _would_ protect them – as they would protect her. Though she had no idea where these thoughts had come from, she was happy for the sudden strength of her resolve.

She felt a warm reiatsu wash over her as her orange haired friend stepped beside her. "Inoue." He didn't wait for her to look at him before continuing on, something she was grateful for – it would be difficult to concentrate on what he was saying if she was actually looking at him. She might have stared at his lips too, and how would she go about explaining that?

"You've been busy and it's been a long day so sleep – I'll take over the watch for now, okay?"

From behind them, Urahara pulled out his fan, hiding a smile behind it as he leaned back with a small hum coming from his lips of a catchy song he heard on the radio. Ah, he loved it when he won.

Orihime whirled around at Ichigo's words, eyes wide. "But, but! Kurosaki-kun, you've got more fighting to do than the rest of us! You need sleep so you can be strong and… not get hurt," her voice got lower as she went on, her heavy eye-lashes lowering as she glanced towards the ground, staring at their feet for a moment. Then she looked up, honey eyes filled with the same conviction she had felt moments before. "I can handle this!"

"I don't doubt that, Inoue." His lips twitched into half a smile or maybe it was a smirk. Either way, it turned her knees into jelly despite the number of times she'd seen it on his face. She swallowed and then shook her head, planting her feet firmly so her legs wouldn't shake and reveal themselves to him. Then his words occurred to her. He didn't… doubt what? Her? His rest? What?

"But-"He continued. The frown on his face utterly adorable and she could only stare at his lips as they curved to form word. Oh, right, he was talking; she needed to pay attention… "-you need to sleep so you can be strong as well."

Orihime blinked. Ichigo blinked as though surprised at his words. Sado, who had been trying not to watch them and failing as he sat there with silent amusement, blinked. Urahara continued humming under his breath while Nel snorted in her sleep, rolling over again until she was on her stomach.

She took a moment to collect herself.

"I'm fine though! I sleep so little lately that I don't need much!" She chirped out, doing a fist pump in the air again.

"That's exactly why you need to sleep – you'll be using more now than you did at home. So go to sleep," he paused, and then repeated the words she had said earlier. "And I'll protect you." Orihime didn't doubt his words, but she did blush, noting the emphasis on 'you'. She knew it meant all of them, but still… her imagination had imagined, for a moment, that he was talking of her exclusively about her.

Orihime stuttered out her arguments (How was she supposed to use her newfound resolve if she was denied this chance?), but Ichigo was firm, his eyes narrowed before he all but carried her over to where he had been sitting before, forcing her down with a stern "sleep" before he turned off. Any of her words was ignored after that as he stared, leaning against one of the boulders acting as a place for them to hide.

Tall trees, though dead, shielded them from anything that flew above, but it didn't hide the moon from sight. She pouted, leaning back on the sand. Despite there being no sun to heat it, the ground was warm and with no wind, she didn't need a blanket. Not that they needed one.

Orihime sighed, removing the hairpins from her hair and clipping them to her shirt. She could hear Urahara humming now that neither Kurosaki-kun nor she was speaking anymore and the soft rumble of Sado-kun as he breathed, attempting to sleep, and Nel's snores, drifting in an out of her consciousness.

At some point, Orihime had fallen asleep because when she jolted awake for some odd reason, there wasn't a sound aside from snoring. Even Urahara must have fallen asleep since she couldn't hear his humming, though she couldn't exactly hear his snoring either – maybe he didn't snore. She knew some people didn't, but she had always assumed him to be the type that did. Even silent Chad snored.

She sat up, rubbing crust from her eyes and glancing around. There was no one here – nothing that could have resulted in her waking up. Sniffing a bit to herself, Orihime slumped down on the floor, sighing and rolling onto her side. _Mm, just a few more hours of sleep and then I'll take over for Kurosaki-kun, he must be so tired, _she thought to herself, slowly trying to drift off to sleep. Then she sat up with a loud gasp before slamming a hand over her mouth to glance at her sleeping companions – they hadn't woken up_. Good._

Orihime glanced around, looking for a flash of orange hair in the darkness. The moon was the only source of light, but even his hair would have stood out against the stark black and white background of Hueco Mundo. There was nothing. No scowl, no bright orange hair, no broad shoulders, no firm looking lips moving to demand why she was up, no- Orihime blushed before she could think of his physical features any further and jumped to her feet.

She may not be able to see him, but his reiatsu was easy to find. It stood out to her like a sun at midnight, something she would long to have right now because it was pitch black. Even the moon wasn't helping anymore. She couldn't even see in front of her or the hand she held in front of her face. Orihime could walk off a cliff without even realizing it.

It was only his reiatsu that made her turn in what was hopefully the correct direction. There was so many threads of them around here, so many pressures squeezing at her head and making her footsteps falter, but his was the only one that stood out – the only one that was like a warm, encompassing hug that she welcomed in the cold. No longer shielded by the small oasis of trees and boulders, the weather was harsh on her bare legs and upper shoulders.

A harsh gust of wind blew then and she held her hands up to shield against the onslaught of sand in her face. It didn't really work much, but at least it kept her eyes from stinging. "Blargh," she spat the sand from her mouth, shaking her head quickly. Why was Hueco Mundo so cold again? This was a desert! Weren't they hot? She had no idea; it was never this cold in her cell.

Her cell… the words made her shiver worse than the cold. In the dark, Orihime couldn't force the memories back and she couldn't distract herself with the voices of her friends around her. The only thing out here was dirt and dead trees and a huge white fortress which only served to make matters worse, and there was howling of hollows and she was in complete darkness, unable to decipher from one thing to the next.

Orihime turned on her heel, prepared to walk back to camp and dig around in one of the bags Urahara had brought on the hopes of finding a flashlight. But a roar sounded on her left (or was it her right? The sound just seemed to echo) and she whirled around again and again, trying to figure out where it was coming from before- too late. Something heavy slammed into her from the side and Orihime landed face down into the sand.

Unable to splutter, she felt something wrap around her ankle and she was hoisted high into the air, hair falling around in her face, arms swaying uselessly above her (or below her, this weird angle made it hard to tell which way she was going), and her breasts being the only thing that prevented her shirt from falling down and exposing herself to the elements more than she was. Whatever was holding her was slimy feeling and it twisted up from her ankle to the middle of her leg, leaving a trail of some sort of goo on her that felt disgusting.

Despite the rationalization that she had no clue what was going on, her eyes darted from side to side, attempting to find something that could give hint to where she should send her attack. Was she going to die with all the blood rushing to her head? "Let…" Her throat was constricted and words didn't come out in anything other than gibberish. She was starting to panic and the way she was hanging was making her dizzy.

Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun! Kurosaki-kun! Her mind repeated the mantra over and over again, as though if she thought if hard enough he might sense his thoughts and come to her rescue from-

From a hollow. Oh Kami, was she really going to need being saved from a lowly hollow? How pathetic of her!

"Let go!" The very idea had given her strength and she kicked, her free foot aiming towards whatever was holding her – it was hard, like a tree trunk, and sent a painful jolt up her leg as it made a squelching noise like a tentacle. Then there was howling again. The hollow had been so silent, perhaps looking for any companions or maybe even it couldn't find her in the darkness despite holding her so tightly.

But now that she had hit it, her location was known. Though it had loosened momentarily on her, it tightened again and she was moving, swinging towards him with her hands very nearly smacking her in the face because of gravity.

"Smells… good…" The voice was close. Very close. Just tilting her head a fraction, she could spot the glaring of the white mask against the blackness around her. Then, with more narrowing of her eyes, its body: fat and short, basically a stump with tentacles shooting out of it like lasers; four long, slimy and strong tentacles, one of which was crushing her leg while one of the others slowly moved up her body until it was tightened around her waist.

She gritted her teeth at the pain, focusing on him. It was so close, he was holding her up high and there was a sudden rip in its face, revealing a long row of jagged teeth and she was suddenly aware of being dizzy. How long had she been suspended like this? Hours, days, year?

"Koten…" She started, temples throbbing and stars bursting behind her eyes as the grip tightened around her midsection. Orihime had to force herself to finish: "Zanshun." There was a burst of light from the clips attached to her shirt and then it was moving quickly, a bright crescent heading towards the hollow she stared at unblinkingly.

Tsubaki sliced straight through his mouth and there was a burst of blood, a scream of pain, and then she was falling, falling, falling…

:

:

:

Ichigo grumbled to himself about stubborn women. Or woman, to be more specific, and he glanced over his shoulder, to where she was laying. There was a pinch her brow from what he could see, but her breathing was natural and deep, nothing to worry over. Still, he found himself staring at her, hungrily drinking in every twitch of her expression before he caught himself.

Jerking his gaze from her, he returned his gaze to the white castle. He had almost forgotten how it looked, the past seventeen months of his life generally spent worrying about other things and not what had happened here. The fight, his hollow, the hole, the screaming… Now that it was suddenly silent, he could hear it all repeating again.

It occurred to him that maybe that was why Orihime was so distracted earlier. Ichigo hadn't taken the time afterwards to talk about what happened during her time here or during that episode above, having been pulled from his battles here to his one with Aizen then to training then to Aizen again before he lost his powers.

Everything had seemed insignificant after that; unimportant; nothing he could do about it anymore.

_"Baka, just because it's not important to you doesn't mean it's not important to someone else!"_ He could practically hear Ishida's words; see his expression flaring to an emotion akin to fury nearly four months after he said good-bye to Rukia. Not that Ichigo had paid much attention to the words then; in fact, most of it seemed like a daze to him, like he had been asleep.

He sighed, blinking from his thoughts and focusing his attention on what was in front of him; only to find that he had turned during the process of his thoughts to stare at Orihime again.

"What the-"Ichigo mumbled to himself, scowling deeply as he turned his gaze away from her again. How had that even happened? Damn it, he was starting to go crazy, perhaps he shouldn't have agreed to do this and just forced Urahara to do. He felt like a pervert as he risked a glance at her sleeping form again, hoping that if he looked for a couple of seconds it would satisfy whatever urge was making him do so.

Long, auburn hair that was tangled together from what he could see. They hadn't thought this to be an extended trip and didn't bring anything with them. Heavy eyelashes covering the brown-honey colored eyes she had that rested against her naturally pink cheeks – or maybe she was cold? There was a blanket tightened in her fist though, surely if that was the case she would throw it over herself…

He sighed, getting to his feet and walking slowly towards her, ignoring the distant humming of Urahara, who was drifting lazily to sleep himself. Ichigo crouched over her, momentarily watching the twitch in her brow that soon relaxed when he pulled the blanket from her hand, careful not to brush fingers with her, and tossed it over her form. Her expression was so…. calm and serene, and he had the inexplicable urge to run a finger down her cheek, just to see if the look on her face was an illusion.

Just then, her pink tongue darted out, moistening her lips as she sighed. He stared, mesmerized by the movement and her plump lips. Would she wake up if he leaned down and pressed a kiss to them? Ichigo frowned at that train of thought, but couldn't keep back his thoughts as he considered it. Just one, small kiss, to see if they tasted as good as they looked and felt as soft as they appeared.

She breathed again and it seemed to break his trance. Inoue. She was Inoue. He couldn't kiss Inoue, let alone when she was asleep.

Mentally cursing, hands curled into fist and the tips of his ears red, Ichigo stood up and hurried back over to his previous position quietly. He was supposed to be keeping watch, not ogling the beauty sleeping behind him like some old lecher!

It was made difficult by his head, along with his hollow, to do it though. His hollow cackled, flashing mental images of him pressing Orihime to the bed, of her moans as he took her, of her crying out his name-

_Shut the fuck up!_ He hissed at his hollow, face burning as he tried to not let the images finish playing out in his head. This was not the time to be thinking of such things nor there ever a time.

**_Just do it, King! Or, better yet, let me out! Come on, I doubt she'd complain… _**His hollow snickered in his head, blue tongue darting out to lick his lips. More images flashed into his mind and Ichigo gnashed his teeth together, getting to his feet. Just a quick walk to clear all temptation from his mind because, Kami, he had to hold himself back from shaking her wake and then kissing her senseless.

;

;

Ichigo wasn't sure how long he had been walking. A while if the dull ache in his legs were anything to go by, he had never done anything slow walking like this, generally jumping and running from place to place, battle to battle. This trek to clear his thoughts was odd feeling, something he wasn't sure he had done – there were walks to school, but had he ever taken the moment to just walk in his shinigami form?

Probably not since bad things were generally going on when he was like this.

In the distance and echoing his thought, he could hear a roar; obviously a hollow. Maybe that would help him? Fighting always seemed to cure something in him and, if anything, it'd give him the excuse to for being out and about should anyone wake up.

**_I dunno, maybe,_** his hollow replied with the air of someone who didn't really give a damn. His hollow seemed to like violence, but only if it challenged or benefited him in some way; something that this wouldn't do – and the fact that his Hollow wasn't pushing him to go acted as a positive encouragement. Ichigo smirked, picking himself up into a run.

He arrived at the scene, only a few feet behind it. His hands tensed around Zangetsu, tempted to grab its attention so he was at least kept busy momentarily. Then there was a flash of auburn and he stopped, fingers tightening around the grip. Then he let the reiatsu wash over him so he could tell if this was just a coincidence, some random hollow with the same looking hair as her.

It wasn't a coincidence. He could feel her spirit pressure wash over him, warm and soft and comforting as it seemed to caress his face.

Ichigo sucked in a breath through his teeth and took a step back. The object of his thoughts, appearing in front of him – was this some sort of sign? For what though?

**_Focus, King_**_,_ commented his hollow lazily, eyes rolling, **_unless you want Princess to turn into hollow-chow._**

_What the hell are you talking about? _Ichigo knew Inoue, she could handle a lowly hollow like this without his intervention – though it was taking a lot of his strength to not leap in and cleave its head off, he doubt she would enjoy that. As amusing and adorable he found her embarrassed stutters, he wasn't sure if he could trust himself around her yet.

Shit; adorable?

**_I was going to say sexy as hell, but… _**His hollow didn't finish, a smirk playing on his lips before he shook his head clear and seemed to make a jabbing motion, as if indicating where Ichigo should be looking. It was towards the hollow, which seemed to be speaking, and still Ichigo had no idea what the hell he was supposed to be looking at until he saw the hollow holding her above its mouth.

Shit.

How'd he not notice that? He had spotted her and immediately assumed everything okay. What a shit protector he was supposed to be!

Ichigo launched forward and was pulling out his sword, ready to slash it, when there was the burst of orange light followed by the hollow's scream. Moments later, the hollow disintegrated and Ichigo still moved forward, catching her easily before she could smash into the sand. "Inoue! Hey!"

Her mouth was open, plump lips opening and closing as though she had to stop herself from screaming now that she wasn't falling. She doubted the sand would kill her, in fact, she found the whole positively soft, but from that height…

Orihime shuddered at the idea of dying from that. Some person she was hadn't even been able to save herself; how did she expect to protect her friends?

Then it registered that Ichigo was holding her. His arms were curved, holding her bridal style as stared down at her with intense and inquisitive eyes. "Apdolalsd-"Gibberish escaped her lips and she clasped them shut, staring up at him with wide eyes as a blush engulfed her face.

Oh Kami, he was holding her! Granted, he had done so before, but it never failed to make her heart beat skip and then pick up speed. And his eyes- so intense, so deep… She was going to fall in them if she stared any longer. Oh no, he was starting to realize that she wasn't saying anything – she could see the worried narrowing of his eyes.

Spluttering again, Orihime actually managed to say something that actually resembled words: "Pickles!" Then she clasped a hand over her mouth, face color turning darker with embarrassment. _Calm yourself, Orihime! _She ordered herself with narrowed eyes while she tried to memorize the adorably flabbergasted look on his face for future reference.

"Ano… Kurosaki-kun… y-you-u can put me down now…" She finally got out, though stumbling a bit at the beginning. She needed to get a hold of herself; he was going to start thinking she was insane!

"Ah, right, sorry." He didn't immediately move to put her down and she shifted uncomfortably, not sure how long she would be able to resist just grabbing his cheeks or kissing him or something equally embarrassing.

Previous hollow battle not even on her mind, Orihime had never been in such a close proximity with him like now without it being before or after a major battle in which she would be more happy that he was alive than anything else.

A moment later and he was still holding her, though this time he stared at her carefully, enough so that she was worried something was stuck to her face. Had she drooled and gotten sand on her face or…?

"Sorry," he repeated, blinking from whatever thoughts were plaguing his mind as he set her on the floor again with a heavy sigh then stepping back once she was standing. Orihime felt the loss, especially since he had been warm and blocking her from the wind which she could feel now, the back of her legs freezing. Hopefully it would let up soon; last thing she wanted was frost bite and the amputation of her legs.

That would probably make saving anybody difficult.

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**Considering the fact we jump right into things here, expect it to get really dark, really fast. Those in Hueco Mundo: Chad, Ichigo, Orihime, Nel and her two friends, and Urahara. Ishida is not there merely because he's not in the manga, but consider it to go AU after this point since I won't be following the rest of the manga (however it shall end, which I still don't know). **

**More explanation of what's going on will be given in the next chapter, though if anybody has questions I'll be happy to answer! **

**Please read and review (or just review because you must have gotten to this point and read everything already?) Constructive criticism is always welcome!**


	2. Didn't Expect You To

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. _**  
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**Thank you everyone who reviewed, favorited (is this even a word?), and followed this story! It makes me roll around in happy feelings whenever people take the time to comment on this whether signed in or otherwise! Random fact: this chapter title comes from a phrase you'll hear more often than not in this chapter! I hope you enjoy!**

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**Didn't Expect You To**

"Are you okay?"

Orihime squeaked, surprised at his words. They had been walking in silence for a while now, nothing escaping either of their mouths as they walked very slowly back towards camp. It was only his hand on her shoulder that kept her from walking into something as he seemed to be able to see better out here than she could.

"I'm just fine, Kurosaki-kun!" She had a headache and it was freezing and she really wanted to curl into a ball and sleep for a couple of years. Of course, Ichigo didn't have to know that. Orihime sighed and nodded again, though didn't know if he could see her. Was he even looking at her?

Orihime hesitated a moment, not sure whether she wanted to continue speaking or let them walk on in silence. Her head would hurt either way and she did like hearing his voice… "Kurosaki-kun?" She started.

"Hn?"

She didn't find that very encouraging, though his fingers did momentarily tighten on her shoulder, and fiddled with the edges of her shirt before speaking again. "How can you see out here? It's just… so dark!"

"Not sure, it was pretty dark a little while ago. Maybe it's just my reiatsu or something…" He mused, seeming to talk to himself for the last part. Ichigo didn't even seem to know the answer himself; maybe he just adjusted to the darkness quicker than her. He had been walking for a while after all. This reminded him though: "Inoue, what were you doing wandering around?"

"Eh?" She blinked owlishly. "Oh, I saw Kurosaki-kun wasn't there and…" She worried he would feel the heat from her cheeks as she blushed again. "I was worried and wanted to make sure Kurosaki-kun was okay." Saying his name rather than 'you' had made that easier to get out than normal and she didn't even stumble over the words!

Orihime would have fist pumped for her victory had he not chosen that moment to stop walking, leading to her walking into his back. With a gasp, she stumbled back a step, grabbing the hand on her shoulder to keep from falling backwards on her behind.

"Kurosaki-kun?" She questioned, noticing the sudden tensing of his shoulders. "What is it?"

"Crap," he muttered right before a small blur slammed into him.

"Kurosaki-kun!" She paused, taking in the green blur individual clutching Ichigo enough that he stumbled back, moving his hand from her shoulder to hold Nel away from his Shihakushō. "Nel-chan?"

"Itsygo!" Nel cried, clutching him and all but ignoring the red head who she had actually not heard through her own wails. "Where were you, Itsygo?"

Ichigo wrinkled his nose, holding her at arm's distance away to avoid getting any snot on him. He would never get used to that and it would probably always be disgusting. "You could have broken my jaw!" He complained, trying to set her down on the floor. The child seemed to be gripping his sleeve.

"Kurosaki!" Urahara called, sloping over to them with an odd expression on his face. It might have been a trick of the light though – it was still fairly dark, as it always was around here, but more so than normal. The moon was the only source for right now until 'morning' came, in which they would finally be able to see even a little more clearly.

"We woke up – well Nel-san did- and couldn't find you two," he pointed an accusing finger at them, clicking his tongue in amused disapproval. Now that he was closer, Orihime could see that he had a knowing glint to his eye, no hint of the odd expression from before. "You gave us all quite the fright!"

"Not frightened enough – you obviously didn't look for us," Ichigo muttered, taking in the fact they were only a few feet from their designated hiding spot.

Urahara chuckled, not saying whether or not he actually heard him or not.

"Where's Sado-kun?" Orihime voiced.

With this, the bright haired boy beside her tilted his head, glancing around and she followed his lead despite being able to see very little. There wasn't a sign of the gentle giant around and it was mildly distressing – but surely Urahara would be worried if their friend wasn't here?

"I sent Sado-san ahead!" Urahara answered cheerfully, confirming her thoughts. "Come, come! We might as well get a head start – earlier than I expected, we might have time to find something to eat."

She wondered what they were going to eat. This was a desert for hollows and didn't seem to be plentiful in food for humans to eat. It also brought up the question of how Ulquiorra got food to bring to her – just picturing him in line at McDonald's had the effect of making her giggle, even more so when she thought of the monotone voice he would use when ordering.

Reward for that giggle was Ichigo's confused look that had her blushing. "Nothing!" She responded to the unsaid question, skipping ahead towards Urahara, leaving Ichigo behind to deal with the scolding Nel. The young child obviously didn't appreciate them (him) leaving with no warning as to why he was gone.

"Nel-chan reminds me: why were you guys gone?" Urahara asked, shooting a look over his shoulder.

He hid his laughter as the two bright haired teenagers looked uncomfortable. But, in an effort to make them blush and make the long walk entertaining (for him, at least), he continued on, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you two were up to something!"

Orihime turned red; Ichigo turned some other color that probably didn't have a name yet before the latter burst into speech. "It was nothing! A hollow nearby dragged us out and Inoue was already up so…" He just shrugged angrily, unable to put a calm and cool expression on his face.

"Nothing serious, correct? I'm sure we would have felt your reiatsu should it have been rough – I don't think I even felt a twitch of it rising…" Urahara commented to himself, waving himself with the fan.

Ichigo shrugged. "Just an ordinary hollow."

Urahara nodded, letting the subject drop.

;

;

Their walk took them past a dead tree looking identically to the one's they had passed before:

"_Ah there it is! We turn west here and continue on for a while…"_

"_I don't see anything."_

"_Didn't expect you to, Kurosaki; quite a difficult thing to see, especially for some with your level of reiatsu sensing."_

"…_Is that an insult? I think that's an insult!" _

"_No, no! It was merely a statement of the obvious!" There was a snarl and then a thud. "Come on, Orihime-chan, Nel-chan!"_

"_Ano, what about Kurosaki-kun?"_

"_He'll be fine."_

Through some tangle of vines that had turned out to be devil's snare:

"_Nel-chan, you can let go of my sleeve now! I'm positive Kurosaki is awake and following after us now!" Urahara had said with a chuckle._

"_Nel-sama is asleep while the great Pesche carries her!"_

"_Then what is- Oh, marvelous! I didn't think they had such things around here! Not surprising, this place does lack sunlight. I must get a sample of this!"_

"_Ano, Urahara-san, where'd the exit go?"_

"_I guess we'll have to make a way out!" With a blast of light, the vines retreated and they continued on, though some a bit more rattled than others. _

It was a little ways onwards before they passed a group of hollows fighting amongst each other and the few not doing anything shooting a look in their direction suspiciously. The others had stopped, but Urahara continued on without a worry:

"_Why do I have the feeling that I'm suddenly walking alone?" _

"_Urahara-san, what about the hollows?"_

"_Oh, don't worry about them! They'll be too busy fighting to even notice us walking by!" _

"_Pesche would like to point out one of them is looking at us."_

"_Just continue on, my friend! All will be well!"_

Then, finally, they arrived at the bottom of a giant hill that didn't seem to have a top. Urahara had stopped then, settling back against one of the dead trees and shaking the sand out of his sandals.

"I suppose we should wait here for Kurosaki. It'll be easier to attempt this part with more than one person!" He said cheerfully, tipping his hat.

Orihime, along with the rest of their companions, were grateful for this. It had been hours of walking and getting prodded by various objects so a rest would be much needed and enjoyed.

She brushed her fingers through her hair again, blushing as she met the tangled mess that she combed through quickly and tied it at the back of her neck so it would stay out of her face. Nel snoozed on the floor, having been woken up earlier than normal and seemed to require more sleep due to her young body. Pesche and Dondochakka were sat on the floor beside her, making fast hand movements as though they were having a silent conversation over her tiny form.

"Hm, I suspect our friend just finished up with the devil's snare," Urahara laughed, staring past all of them in the direction they had come from. Orihime guessed he was studying the reiatsu to see what Ichigo was doing.

"Where are we going again, Urahara-san?" She asked curiously. Her voice was low and she stepped away from the green haired child to keep from waking her up.

She watched his expression, trying to test her ability to read expressions. Ever since her time in Hueco Mundo, she had attempted to watch other people, try to read them for any warning signs. Urahara, however, was different than what she expected – his demeanor and expression was that of a cheerful, charismatic man while his eyes held the look of an intelligent scientist.

It made reading him difficult. She felt a little embarrassed for doing so anyway. Urahara had only helped her and her friends so why did she have a feeling of distrust?

"Just meeting a few locals that'll provide beneficial information to our mission," he answered. She was reminded now: his answers revealed very little of the plan, whatever it may be.

What it did reveal didn't reassure her in the slightest. "L-locals?"

"Don't worry your pretty head on it, Orihime-chan! These locals aren't out to harm us," he replied, head tilted.

She opened her mouth to ask another question, but stopped as a blast of sand hit them. It was blinding and getting in her eyes, making it difficult to see what was going on. The only thing she could detect was a high level of reiatsu approaching them at high speed. Orihime threw her shield up in front of the group, the sand hitting it and bouncing off in another direction.

"BASTARD!" A voice shouted, a figure with bright hair bursting quickly from the sand with his sword out. He quickly slammed it down, attempting to strike one of them down. Having been blinded with no protection, he didn't notice the shield until he hit it, flying back.

With a great bang he flew away from them, slamming into the ground and shooting up more sand that prevented anyone from moving or even seeing more than a foot beyond the shield protecting them.

"Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouted, squinting to try and spot him through the haze of sand. It wasn't slowing down, the winds seemed to have picked up and she couldn't even see behind her now that it had surrounded them.

She heard murmured words, too low to be heard with all the noise going around them brought about by the hollow roars echoing to them, Nel wailing at being woken up and at the sudden disappearance of Ichigo while her brothers attempted to pacify her with funny faces and even louder noises. But there was a _pop!_ and they were surrounded by a giant clear dome the size of a master bedroom.

Her shield dropped, recognized the reiatsu clinging to it: Urahara. He must have been the one murmuring as he erected a shield to protect them and glancing over her shoulder, she was surprised to note he wasn't even standing there anymore!

"Urahara-san!" Orihime called worriedly, checking on Nel and her brother from the corner of her eyes. They appeared fine, though still trying to soothe the green haired child.

"Over here, Orihime-chan! Good work with the shield – it would have been much harder to pull this off if I had sand in my eyes," he said near the side edges of the domes, squatting over a figure on the floor. She could see him removing something from his pocket, a pen from the looks of it, and using it to prod the person to rolling over.

A person with dirty red hair, ragged shinigami uniform, and an equally tattered fur coat. Someone who definitely wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki.

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Meanwhile, Ichigo found himself still being attacked by a plant.

Despite all his attempts to hack and cut the vines away from him as they crept up one of his legs, more seemed to shoot out to replace the ones he'd gotten rid of. Thinking of hitting what appeared to be the main line as it started to catch around his waist, he swung Zangetsu down on a thick looking one that appeared to be connected to all the others, slicing it in half.

There was a wailing sound in response.

"What the fuck?" He kicked the vines off; he was relieved it had come off easily enough and was getting prepared to walk forward when he found his path blocked by a thick weave of the vines appearing to shake with anger. Moments later, he was engulfed and surrounded, the natural light he had been using to see cut off.

One thing to say about that: it was dark and itchy, with the little pointy bits on the plants poking him with every little shift he made. While there was plenty of room for him to at least move his arms, his legs couldn't take a step anywhere without hitting something. "Fuck." Ichigo didn't think he had sworn so much his entire life as he had in the past half an hour.

If Urahara hadn't just left him there then he wouldn't be stuck here, but of course the man had just left him there in the middle of the desert to be eaten by anything. For some reason, when he woke up however long later, he had been unscathed though. The hollows must have been wary of walking around with the new enemy, or maybe they were just few in number now.

He sighed, adjusting his grip on Zangetsu. It would be easy to use Getsuga Tensho if he could actually move, but the vines made it impossible to swing his sword around appropriately without chopping his own head off.

Sometimes he regretted not accepting the offer to learn Kido. Then, thinking of how annoying and difficult it had been the first time he tried to use it when the thing blew up his face and his room, counted his blessings for not having been required to.

"What a weird looking plant," an unfamiliar voice stated in a tired monotone.

"Don't touch it, baka!" Another voice shouted, followed by a ripping and wailing sound Ichigo understood to be the plant's cry. "That is devil's snare! Come on, we should go around it – I don't trust that thing."

"That'll take a while, Lilynette." The person sighed.

Lilynette sucked in an angry breath through her nose. "What do you mean 'a while'? It's like five steps for you, longer for me! You complain too much, Starrk."

"Yes, but I still have to wait for you to catch up." Starrk stated.

Without any further warning, there was an explosion as something hit the vines, making them all wail louder than a hollow's roar. His own ears were buzzing and if the sound got any higher, he was sure they would start bleeding. He winced, rolling his neck so that his ear was pressed against his shirt.

The plants were loosening up around him, he could suddenly breathe easier and Ichigo sighed out in relief that quickly turned into a gasp. A blazing blue fire was heading towards him incredibly, hitting everything in its path without a care – and he just happened to be one of the things stopping it from continuing on unhindered.

"Shit." He barely stabbed the giant blade into the ground and gripped the hilt when the fire hit the side. There was an explosion as the two forces hit and Ichigo gritted his teeth, trying not to fly back because he knew if he moved from behind his sword then he'd be consumed by the flames. It was shooting off from all sides and joining together again behind him, leaving him trapping on all sides.

His fingers were shaking; they were burning, too close to the heat for what they preferred. Ichigo wasn't sure how much longer his fingers would hold it; they seemed to comically pop off the longer it went.

"Eh, what's this?" Starrk asked and there was a shadow over him as a figure stepped in front of the path, hitting the fire with just the palm of their hand! Ichigo kept from yelling at them for being an idiot because the fire bounced right off, shooting in the opposite direction and then fading completely, leaving Ichigo staring and blinking at where it had been.

How did that happen? Never before had he seen something like that happen – well, he had seen somebody divert a cero before, but never with only a hand. This person hadn't even used both of them either, just lifted the appendage lazily and batted it away like a fly.

"You can stand up now, you know," Starrk pointed out, breaking Ichigo from his thoughts and he stood up, pulling his blade from the ground and jumping back a couple of feet.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded of them. "Why did you save me?"

"Save you?" Lilynette barked with laughter, drawing his attention as he attempted to look at both of them at the same time. It was like trying to look cross eyed though. Why couldn't they stand closer together so he could focus his eyes on them better? "As if we'd go out of our way to save someone we don't even know. You were just in luck- Oh, hey, aren't you that one guy? Uhh…"

"Kurosaki Ichigo, I'm presuming?" Starrk smoothly interrupted the musing Lilynette. He stepped over to her, dropping a hand onto her shoulder – the very same one he had used to whack away the cero, Ichigo couldn't help but notice, despite his other hand being closer to her. He couldn't help noticing it swung against his side without really meaning it, like the appendage wasn't the one actually moving and it was too weak to even hold itself still.

Now Ichigo looked them over carefully. The man had flowing hair parted down the middle and the remainder of a hollow mask in the form of a jaw around his neck like a piece of jewelry while he donned the normal all white uniform that the Arrancar wore. Not just that, but Ichigo actually recognized him – he was the man who had stolen Orihime after the fight with Nnoitra.

Which meant he wasn't any Arrancar; he was an Espada.

Stark blinked at the scrutiny, studying the person opposite of him with lazy interest. Bright hair, shinigami, giant blade, uncontrollable reiatsu – those were the requirements made to be Ichigo Kurosaki given to him by Aizen many moons ago, and this was clearly the person, if not a bit older than the last time they met.

"ASSHOLE!" Lilynette screamed suddenly, swinging herself up to slam a leg into both of the men's stomachs. Ichigo gasped, rubbing his ribs at the surprise attack while Starrk spluttered, used to these types of attacks but not expecting it this time.

Both shot her questioning looks.

"How dare you just neglect me while you have a stare off?! I'm strong too – don't just overlook me!" Lilynette demanded, dropping her hands onto her hips much like Yuzu did when she was passionately annoyed and not willing to let it go so easily. Ichigo found the movement remarkably similar to each other, but knew the girls were much alike.

Lilynette seemed to have short green hair, a much lighter color than Nel's, with a pink eye color that Ichigo merely stared it. He didn't think anybody could have a color like that. She wore the same white clothes seen anywhere, though hers were far more revealing and unsuitable to the weather than most uniforms.

He would have never even let her walk outside wearing that even if she was his neighbor and he shot a look at Starrk as if to demand he make the girl put clothes on. Ichigo didn't appreciate the wind ruffling her vest and very nearly revealing herself to him – another reason to stare at Starrk rather than her: so he didn't feel like a pervert.

"You're doing it again. Are you even going to introduce me, Starrk?" She crossed her arms, staring at him angrily. It reminded him of a sister trying to talk a brother into introducing her to his friends.

"This is Lilynette," Starrk sighed, scratching the side of his nose idly. "-and I'm Starrk. Though I'm guessing you assumed as much already."

Ichigo stared at them. "Why the hell are you here?"

"Is that a philosophical question a literal question or something else?" The dark haired man replied, not appearing to care either way.

A vein in Ichigo's forehead twitched. "Are you guys going to avenge, Aizen?" He had assumed all the Espada were dead and if this one was alive, then how many others were? Soul Society would have to know about this; they were already dealing with threats of war from what he heard from Urahara, it wouldn't be any good to have people seeking revenge on their behinds as well.

"We see no reason to. Everyone dies at some point, he just marched to his differently," Starrk shrugged. He sounded odd though, almost reluctant to admit as much and it did nothing to reassure Ichigo of his innocence. Then again, nothing probably would have done so.

"I don't think he believes you, Starrk." Lilynette seemed in a much better mood now that she wasn't being over looked.

"Didn't expect him to, sadly," he sighed, turning on his heel and continuing to walk on. "You were probably right, it would have been easier to just walk around – look at how much time we've wasted sitting around here chatting."

Without waiting to see whether his companion was following, he walked slowly towards a destination the rest of them couldn't see. He didn't get long though before he dropped, knees hitting the sand rather hard and his upper body soon followed, falling forward.

"Starrk!" Lilynette shouted, starting to run towards him, but stumbling over her own feet until she landed beside him. Despite her calling his name, the man didn't respond and continue to lie there, not even appearing to breathe. She called his name again, edging towards hysteria before her gaze swiveled over to Ichigo and she seemed to freeze, stuck on what to do.

The gaze worried Ichigo. He recognized it too well and the fact that he did so made his stomach twist. It was the look of someone staring at an enemy and realizing that they didn't have enough to power to save the person or people they cared for. He'd seen the look so often before and he didn't like seeing the same frightened look again now when they were supposed to be at peace.

She seemed to be teetering on the edge of screaming for his help and dragging Starrk away while they were both still shocked.

Finally she made a decision, turning around swiftly to grab Starrk's collar and starting to drag him as best she could. He seemed to be heavier than normal and she knew it to be because of his dead weight, though she did her best to roll 'dead' out of her head. Surely she would sense if he did die, right? Besides, she could feel his reiatsu and though it was lower than normal, it was still there, beating steadily like waves against a beach.

Ichigo finally blinked out of his surprise when she gasped from the effort it took to pull Starrk along and shot over to them, strapping his sword to his back. He'd need both hands to get the man over anywhere since he wasn't nearly as strong as Chad.

Lilynette gasped when he was suddenly in front of her and started pulling harder until there was a rip and she stumbled back, Starrk's shirt collar held tightly in her hands. "Damn it!" She turned to kick at the sand and then whirled around again, going to unsheathe her blade when she noticed Ichigo had Starrk pulled up, one of the man's arms wrapped around his shoulder.

"Well, are you going to help or not?" He asked her angrily, teeth grinding together with the effort to hold him up.

Is this really how much people weighed when they were near death or was he just out of shape from the months of inactivity? He doubted Lilynette would be able to ease the weight given how small she was, but he doubted he'd be able to get far without another person at least attempting to help.

"Help…?" Lilynette asked with a frown. Why would he be helping them?

"Yeah, help or would you prefer for me to drag him by his ankles?" He felt that was a little too Achilles dragging Hector like for his preference, but figured it would push her into getting over here.

"No, no!" If he was just asleep mainly, but Lilynette knew this wasn't a normal type of sleep. Something was wrong with him. She knew they shouldn't have chosen to go on a mission this time around; neither of them was fully recovered for it.

With a sigh, she hurried over to them and threw Starrk's other arm over her shoulder. She would worry about scolding him and everybody else later – right now, she had to focus on getting herself and her two companions out of here.

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**Next Chapter: Enter Ashido Kano**

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**Here's an author's note and then review replies underneath!** As you can see, this chapter didn't give you an explantion of what was going on and the reason for that is I couldn't fit it into this chapter. We'll be hearing it from next chapter - so I hope you guys will stick around, I plan on making this a mixture of what we know from the canon and my own ideas. Just to make it interesting!

As far as I know, Starrk and Ichigo never met beyond the former going to steal Orihime back during the Hueco Mundo arc. If I'm wrong, please feel free to let me know though I should also point out that I'd have to disregard it anyway for the sake of the plot. I'm sorry for anybody who doesn't enjoy that, I try to stay as close to some canon information as I can.

Also, as you can see, we've got two and a half new characters (half because the first is unconscious and we've not heard anything else from him yet! I'll say no more because spoilers!). I had a hard time trying to think of who the people who would save Ichigo from the Devil's Snare (raise your hand if you're HP and got this). It was going to be Renji and Rukia, but I didn't think either of them fit the bill and then I thought: what about Espada? So Starrk and Lilynette fit.

**Guest:** Thank you for reviewing! :D You don't know how happy I was to see one. I hope you enjoy the story and that it lives up to any expectation you may have! **Frezia**: Thank you, thank you, for reviewing! :) Like I said, I'm so happy when I see one! I'm excited to hear you're happy, hopefully I'll get to hear from you soon!

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Please read and review!


	3. Enter Ashido Kano

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach. Nor any money to buy either the series or the actual product._

_**I got so many reviews for the last chapter that I could just about faint with happiness. I'll hold off from doing that until after this story that way I can get chapters out to you! Thank you everyone who has taken the time to read this! **_

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**Enter Ashido Kano**

Ichigo wasn't sure he could walk any farther. His knees were already rattling together with the effort to keep himself upright and he feared stopping even a moment to breathe in case they decided to give out on him. However, his lungs were demanding more air and he slowed, not willing to stop abruptly and give himself whiplash.

Glancing over, he was relieved not having to explain anything to the young Arrancar. She looked grateful for the slow pace, her breathing coming in quick pants. Neither said anything as they headed for a little sign of shelter in the form of a dead tree and one or two rocks that would serve to hide them from view.

_Just a few more steps_, he thought, forcing his legs to continue forward and his lungs to shut the hell up as they started to scream at him. His feet would sink into the stand as he walked and making it even more difficult to move, but they finally made it.

They both didn't spare a thought to Starrk as he dropped from their grips, landing in a slump on the floor and sending sand into their faces as they both fell face first. Ichigo was the first to roll onto his back, but a thump told him Lilynette had too – or that she had kicked Starrk over, both of which needed much more energy than he was willing to expend to prove.

Once his lungs were no longer bitching at him and his heart was no longer in a race with a professional runner, Ichigo opened his eyes.

The moon still hadn't moved, still the same place it had been nearly two hours ago.

"Shit, I'm out of shape," he grumbled, pressing the tips of his fingers against his temples. He'd only lasted two hours, one of which was complete agony! So much for keeping up with his training while off duty – he seemed to have lost all that extra strength he used to have.

"Tell me about it," Lilynette laughed breathlessly, as though she wasn't feeling as melodramatically near death as he did. "Man, I expected you to at least get us there – but nope."

He held back from flushing at the implication to her words, but scowled at the sky, still too tired to turn his head and direct it at her. Besides, he had something else to say; a question that had been plaguing him since they had started walking to… wherever it is they were walking to. So he changed the subject, attempting to sound casual as he asked, "So where's the rest of the Espada?"

"You mean the ones who are still alive?" She retorted.

He nodded, but realizing that she couldn't see it voiced aloud awkwardly, "Yeah."

"Harribel-sama and her fracciónes disappeared a while ago; we aren't sure where they went. Umm…." Lilynette didn't finish and he glanced at her, only to find she was in deep thought, as though mentally debating whether or not she should even continue.

She must have thought it was because she went on. "The rest of us – or, I guess there's only a few of us now- are at home."

"Las Noches?" Ichigo supplied.

"Nah, this place doesn't have a name, we just call it the fallen rock," she said, rolling her eyes. He tried not to feel offended at the exasperated sigh she made. It wasn't his fault she wasn't speaking clearly! She paused again, but continued on quickly enough, voice low. "This place has been _different _since Aizen left. I mean, I don't remember anything from before since I was kind of asleep while I repaired, but when I woke up everything was weird."

Ichigo tilted his head. This would be the perfect opportunity to get more information. They didn't really even know what they were doing in Hueco Mundo right now anyway and any questions given to Urahara were diverted to something else entirely.

"Weird like chaotic-"

She cut him off. "Weird like the air doesn't feel right and things are… happening."

"Yes, because that clears things up," Ichigo pointed out sarcastically. He was quickly getting a headache from whatever game they appeared to be playing. Any prompts or encouragements he tried to give her were rewarded with simple answers that didn't offer him anything he could use.

Then again, he'd been more of the one to swing his sword around until things worked again while Uryuu or Urahara or Rukia or anyone else figured out the brainwork. This slow pace in which they tried to figure out what was going on in Hueco Mundo made him feel helpless. It was only because of what happened the first time they had leapt straight into battle at Las Noches that prevented him from doing so again.

"Baka!" Lilynette snapped and there was a shuffling sound before he felt a rough kick to his side.

"FUCK-"He shouted, rolling over and holding his side. Why the hell was she so strong? She couldn't have been much taller than one of his legs and about as wide as the bulkiest part of Chad's arm! Yet, he could feel his ribs protesting at the movement as he jumped to his feet, pointing an accusing finger at her. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?"

"For being a baka," She rolled her eyes. "I'm just telling you what I know. Take it or leave it – I don't need to tell you shit." Her fist pressed to her side, hip jutted out as she arched a brow at him challengingly. She didn't want him to know she was bluffing – it went against every ounce of pride she possessed to have to tell him this, but survival would always go before pride. Always.

Ichigo glared at her, weighing the pros and cons of the situation in his mind. On one hand, he could just walk away and leave her here for a little while then come back later in hopes she had perhaps realized she needed him more than he needed her. But, he realized with a heavy sigh, he couldn't very well waste time that wasn't on his side.

He was sure his friends were probably wondering where he was – and he sure as hell wanted to know where they were, make sure they were okay after he bashed that old getaboshi's face into a tree a couple of times.

"Fine, I'll be patient – now go on. What's wrong with the air? What's going on?" He asked, trying to keep the snap from his tone as he pushed a hand through his ruffled orange hair.

She nodded slowly and then sat on the floor, seeming to take her time with answering him as she collected her thoughts. "It's… thin. It's like we're on a higher altitude – there's less air to breathe. Something is stealing all the Reishi in the air, something... unnatural." Lilynette pulled her knees up to her chest, eyes directed firmly on Starrk, whose only sign of life was the faint up and down movement of his chest. "I don't know what's going on or how."

Ichigo frowned. He hadn't taken the time to inspect the air since arriving Hueco Mundo because it didn't seem like a priority, but at her words, he closed his eyes to feel it. Maybe it was because he had a hollow somewhere in him or that he was in shinigami form, but he could faintly sense it. The air didn't feel the same.

When he had first come to Hueco Mundo, it had been slightly overwhelming and yet refreshing at the same time. Like there was so much energy in the air he didn't know what to do with it and the only other place he had felt such relief was in Soul Society. Now, however, it was tainted and thin, barely enough for him to use to support himself.

Before he had felt stronger just being here and now he felt like he was on top of a mountain without an oxygen tank.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked to change the subject, believing her words when she said she didn't know what was going on and he wasn't entirely sure why he had accepted it so easily. The only answer that made a lick of sense was the fact that they hadn't attacked him yet or maybe it was because she looked no more than a child…

He just didn't know.

Lilynette was speaking and he was forced out of his thoughts by the coarse words she spoke. "After those shinigami bastards struck him down back in _that_ place," she said bitterly, "we were asleep for a while. It was so quiet and we were… fading; it sucked, it was like dying all over again.

"But then we were here again, just lying in the sand, and there was Harribel-sama and a few others standing around us, trying to force us up so we could move. It was so hard though – I could barely catch a breath and Starrk couldn't even breathe…"

What could have caused a reaction like that? He had never heard of a hollow suffocating before, let alone without any water to drown in. If they were being purified, if he remembered correctly the details he had focused very little attention on nearly two years ago, then how'd they come back to Hueco Mundo? Someone must have healed them, most likely whoever this Harribel-sama was – but why?

There was a sudden throbbing in his head, reminding him why he had left the heavy deducing to everyone that wasn't him. His ways of solving things was punching them or stabbing them with the pointy end of Zangetsu. He couldn't very well solve this problem since stabbing people didn't improve breathing problems.

Breathing… She had mentioned them feeling like they couldn't breathe in this place.

"There's not enough Reishi to support him, is there?" He asked quietly.

Lilynette looked up at him, momentarily surprised that he had figured it out and he pushed aside feeling offended yet again by her, before she nodded. "We're part of the same soul, but he's still stronger than me when we're separated." Her shoulders shrugged as though she didn't care, but the look in her eyes suggested otherwise. Ichigo didn't want to think on that, unwilling to work on the mushy details that would no doubt make her feel worse than better.

"How do we help him then?" He scowled. If there wasn't Reishi, what was he supposed to do? He could stab with the pointy end of Zangetsu whatever was taking it up, but not if he didn't know what to stab. The things floating around Las Noches maybe, but he didn't know what those were.

What had that creature said he was? An angel? Ichigo remembered wings, but he didn't remember anything specific – he had been more focused on chopping its head off than discovering what it was. Urahara had scolded him about doing so later while he was being healed by Inoue, but it was a little too late for his words in that particular battle.

Lilynette's words pulled him from his thoughts. "At the Fallen Rock – there's a barrier there. It pulls the Reishi in, makes the air like it was before. He can function much better in there. Out here though? He just needs rest," Lilynette said, tilting her head to glance back at the brown haired man before she stood up, clapping her hands loudly as though to grab a crowd's attention. "Alright, enough of the chitty chat -break time is over."

"Chitty chat?" He muttered to himself, crouching down to lift Starrk up again as Lilynette went on the other, throwing an arm carelessly over her shoulder. Off center and slouched forward with the weight of their third companion, the two shuffled forward, Lilynette indicating when they had to turn at the last second.

He only hoped they didn't have to walk much farther.

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The fact the figure on the floor wasn't Ichigo Kurosaki sent her heart into a rampage, thudding so hard against her chest it would probably burst soon enough. A morbid picture formed in her mind of the little organ, one which had gone through a cycle of causing her pain and joy, jumping from her chest eased her worries a little more. But not enough for her eyes to shoot around, squinting through the shield.

_Where is he?_ Orihime had sworn only a few moments ago he was fast approaching them, but now she couldn't feel him at all. She couldn't really feel anything at all actually, the only things she could sense now were the people she knew in the group and the one that she didn't, who was still unconscious as Urahara poked and prodded at him like he was a science experiment.

It must have been the barriers doing. That was the only way to explain why she couldn't sense the hollows outside despite being able to do so moments before.

Orihime hadn't realized her hands were clutched worriedly beneath her chin until there was a tug at her shorts and she had to unravel her fingers, wincing at the movement. She must have been holding them too tight, they felt like if she bent them again then they would snap off. It was how she felt after drawing for a long time with no break. Another tug at her shorts made her remember why she had dropped them in the first place: Nel.

The little girl stared straight at the figure, eyes narrowed and calculating in a way a child's eyes should never be. _She is the previous third Espada_, she reminded herself, even if she doesn't remember much if anything of it. Nel didn't even seem to realize she was holding onto Orihime until the latter crouched down to face her.

"Nel-chan?" Orihime asked softly, blinking simultaneously with the large eyed child.

"Hime, who is that?" Nel asked, returning her gaze to the individual. "Where's Itsygo?"

Orihime opened her mouth to answer, to tell her that she didn't even know who that was or where Kurosaki-kun was, but Urahara, catching their words, spared her from giving Nel a disappointing answer.

"He's a shinigami – Ashido Kano of the twelfth division," Urahara said matter-of-factly, straightening up and pressing his hat more firmly down on his head until it hid his eyes from view. "As for where Kurosaki-san is…" He paused here, having an internal war with himself as he thought of the perfect words to say. "Knowing him, he'll meet up with us later."

Orihime did know him. And knowing Kurosaki-kun, he had been inevitably dragged into some battle. There was another pang in her chest as she realized she wouldn't be there to heal his wounds – because he always got hurt.

In every battle, Orihime couldn't recall a time she didn't have to heal him, where he wasn't leaking an alarming amount of blood, and her stomach would always twist with fear whenever she saw it. Maybe because he didn't care about it – he would pick his sword up and continue swinging, even if he shouldn't be moving lest his wounds get worse.

It was also that which made her think Kuchiki-san was probably a better choice for him. She didn't want to rush off and make sure he was okay the moment he was even slightly injured; instead she would push him to keep fighting, to stay as strong as she knew he was. Because Rukia Kuchiki understood things like battle, that you were always going to get a little hurt and that you had to keep fighting anyway.

She realized with a pang that Kuchiki-san would help him grow while she, Orihime, would hold him back. Her heart squeezed in her chest and she shook her head hurriedly, throwing the thoughts into a room and locking it for good measure. _Stop thinking about it_, she told herself sternly.

Orihime looked back at the group, realizing that they were all standing in a circle, surrounding something. And it took her a moment to remember the person, Ashido Kano, before she scolded herself for carelessly forgetting him and wandering over to the group herself.

Squeezing in between Pesche and Urahara, Orihime tilted her head, surprised the man seemed to be easily conversing with them and she realized that Urahara was doing introductions as though they were all acquaintances on their way to being friends.

"-and then their sister, Nel Tu, and the lovely Orihime Inoue-"The man interrupted him at this point, starting at the name enough that Orihime tensed.

"Orihime Inoue?" He glanced at her, eyes quizzically running her over. "Friend of… Rukia Kuchiki?"

Orihime wasn't the only one tensing up at his words, she noticed that Urahara had gripped Benhime tighter than normal and Nel's brothers stepped up (with shaky legs, she couldn't help noticing) to hide their sister from view. He seemed either unaware of this or not caring enough to bother with it as he spoke on:

"You're here still… does that mean she died trying to accomplish the mission?" The way he said it pushed a shudder unwillingly down her spine. To speak so easily of Rukia being dead made her stomach twist with disgust as the image of her cold, lifeless violet eyes stared behind closed eyelids- Orihime blanched, unable to push it away and instead attempting not to blink.

"Died?" Urahara returned quizzically before a chuckle escaped him. "Why, of course not, Kuchiki-san is dead and breathing just like always. You have been out of touch quite a long time, Ashido-san."

Ashido tensed. "How do you know my name? I've not given you it yet…"

The shopkeeper arched a brow, what little they could see of his eyes saying that should have been fairly obvious. "I'm Urahara Kisuke – you'd think I'd know the members of my previous division rather well, especially those that go, as they say, M.I.A."

Ashido stared at him, eyes widening fractionally before he twisted around to be on his knees, his head bowed down. "Taicho! Forgive me; it's been centuries since I've seen anyone from before that I don't remember much anymore." Further his head bowed down, as though ashamed to have forgotten.

"You forget, I say previous division. I'm no longer your captain, you don't have to explain anything to me," Urahara said briefly, fan hiding his mouth from view. There was a crinkle around his eyes though… He must have been smiling.

Orihime didn't think Urahara had ever smiled before. Out of all the times she remembered him, there was the smirk and the grin and the expressions of someone who had lived too long and see too much, but there was never a smile. There was lightness in his eyes and an uplifting of his shoulders, like a weight had been taken from his heavy shoulders, and she couldn't help but feel relieved for her own selfish reasons that had mixed in with the happiness she had stolen from him.

"Taicho?" Ashido asked hesitantly.

"Kisuke or Urahara, or as some of my friends before to call me: Getaboshi," Urahara chuckled with no amusement. Being called Taicho brought back memories and while some were plenty, there was a high amount that certainly weren't. He snapped his fan shut, suddenly serious as he stated, "Last I heard about you, Ashido-san, is that you were impossibly trapped in the Forest of Menos."

Ashido's expression twisted as an onslaught of questions rested on the tip of his tongue, but one glance around the others, eyes staring significantly at Nel as she peered around Pesche's legs at him, and he let the questions drop away. He would find a time later to bombard Urahara with them. "Ta- Kisuke-sama, your sources are correct. When Rukia Kuchiki and her friends dropped into my forest, speaking of their mission to save one Orihime Inoue, I was to join them to Las Noches and later Soul Society when we escaped."

"I didn't see you there…" Orihime said softly, nose crinkled. She could go over that day scene by scene, and she had numerous times before, but not once did she remember seeing the face in front of her.

He glanced at her, seeming to suddenly remember her presence despite having skimmed the people around him over only a few moments ago. Then he ripped his gaze away, directing it at his feet, and Orihime was reminded painfully that he was still kneeling down.

"No, you didn't, because I didn't get there. While we were leaving, the Menos came and there was no way for us to get out without taking them all with us. That didn't seem…." He sighed, his shoulders slumping, "wise. A rock slide separated us and they went on, promising to come back…"

She felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes without fully understanding why. It could have been the defeated slump of his shoulders or the casual tone he spoke, as though he no longer cared about a promise not being kept despite it regarding his freedom.

But he had had two years to reflect on it, to push it out of his mind as just another reason the world had failed him.

She turned away so no one would see the sparkle of tears in her eyes. He wouldn't want to see sympathy, she assumed, or pity and her tears seemed to be a mixture of both. Blinking many times until her eyes felt less heavy and teary, she turned back to face him. "Gomenasai, Kano-san…"

"…Inoue-san?" He lifted his head to question her, both with his expression and his eyes. There was no response, Orihime only shook her head and didn't elaborate because she didn't know how.

It didn't feel like her fault, she hadn't even known the man existed up until ten minutes ago. But there was guilt plaguing her and she didn't know how to push it away. There was no way she could have helped at anyway, but she could have at least tried to figure out more rather than hiding from the memories. It was only safe to assume they had gotten outside help – if she had only asked, maybe it would have reminded them.

She chided herself for being arrogant enough to assume her words would spark anything but more unpleasant memories for everyone.

"How did you escape then, Ashido-san?" Urahara asked. His expression was unreadable, even his eyes had closed off. It was the look that reminded her he had once been a captain.

"It pure dumb luck," he admitted, climbing to his feet and brushing the sand from his uniform. "I was in the area when one of the hollows nearby shot a cero at the rocks. It broke the few heavy ones, enough so that I could move the smaller ones out of the way and slip out."

Nel chose this time to speak up. "You called someone a bastard," she pointed out. "When you came from nowhere and attacked us." Her large eyes were accusing.

Ashido had the decency to look sheepish. "I assumed you to be one of my companions. They were nearby only a little while ago and then I saw the barrier – I assumed he made one for himself and left me to become a the element's puppet."

"Well, we've bothered Ashido-san with enough questions!" Urahara interrupted, tapping Benhime against the floor. He was perfectly cheerful again, even going as far as referring to her by her first name again. "Orihime-chan, I don't suppose you can fix him up? Your shield was a bit more powerful than anticipated."

His eyes twinkled knowingly at her and she blushed, but complied despite the perplexed expression on Ashido's face. She approached him slowly. "Can you sit down, Kano-san? This may take a few minutes," she supplied, pushing the flush from her face to seem at least a little professional.

He nodded, slipping down to sit.

She closed her eyes. "Soten Kisshun, I reject."

The blue pins attached to her shirt flashed before petals slipped away, forming an oval shield over him. It was relieving to use this; something that she could control that didn't require assistance from someone else, the one thing she _wasn't_ weak at. But she couldn't help remembering the time she wasn't good enough or strong enough to heal.

Her shield shuttered a moment, but Orihime, pushing those memories aside with a murmured "Gomen" to Shun'O, Ayame, and Ashido, fixed it quickly, eyes narrowed with concentration.

Healing was the one thing Orihime wouldn't allow herself to be weak in. She could be pathetic at everything else, and considering she already was it didn't matter, but she would not leave anyone unhealed – her power was to reject, and rejecting the wounds presented in front of her was one thing she couldn't fail at.

Because she had already failed at everything else.

As she thought this, she couldn't help noticing the barrier had stopped fluttering, that was it solid and strong. And that when Ashido lifted a finger and gave it an experimental prod, it shocked him, and he pulled his hand back, staring at quizzically before murmuring, "What an odd Kido skill. Have they developed something new while I've been away?"

"You've been away for a while, Ashido-san, but I don't think that long. No, this is a unique ability that only our lovely lady over here has," Urahara said with a confident nod.

Orihime felt pride at his words, but another emotion, stronger than the happiness she felt at being the only one who could do this, was fear. Being the only person to possess this ability had made her a target, had been the reason she was taken by Aizen and why she had placed all her friends in danger.

The rational side pointed out that Aizen had been using her as a distraction, but she shushed it considering that didn't make her feel any better. In fact, it made her feel worse and if it wasn't for the fact she was using all her might on healing, she might have lapsed back into memories.

A crackling sound and then the shield disappeared. Two little people floated up into her line of sight and she held out her hand for them to rest on, sure they were just as exhausted as she felt. "We're done, Orihime-sama," Shun'O announced proudly. "I think there are a few things we can't heal though..."

His voice had lowered significantly.

"What is it?" Orihime was almost afraid to ask, all the while another part of her mind that sounded suspiciously and creepily like Tatsuki and Tsubaki mixed together said: _great, another thing we can't do._

Shun'O sensed as much and waved his hands. "Don't fret, Orihime-sama. Matters of the mind aren't something we can heal, only something we can sense – emotional scars run deeper than wounds."

"So he's…"

"Mentally scarred, yes," Shun'O supplied when Orihime didn't continue.

"Aren't most people though?"

Ayame answered this time, surprising both Shun'O and Orihime. The amount of times Ayame spoke could be counted on one hand. Still, her voice surprised Orihime. It was quiet and low, like she was doing her best to speak in a way nobody else would hear. On the bad side, it made it difficult for Orihime to hear what she was saying.

"Ayame-san says that everyone has some emotional scars, but they are much different from mental ones," Shun'O translated; close enough that she could hear what the tiny girl was saying. "This isn't emotional scars exactly, it's the effect of said scars that have been inflicted on the mind to induce something like… anxiety."

"So he's… got something like anxiety."

"Yes, exactly, though I can't detect what it is. Things involving the mind are, as we've said, out of our control," Shun'O stated sadly.

Orihime nodded. She shouldn't be surprised. Anybody who went through that was down to feel some sort of pain and he had never spoken to anybody, unless Kuchiki-san managed to talk sense into him like she does Kurosaki-kun, about what he'd been through. Of course that would only make matters worse.

"Thank you, Shun'O, Ayame," she murmured and received a smile back before they disappeared, flashing back to her pins. After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Orihime lifted her head to announce that he was all done and could get up – except that he had already assumed as much and was speaking lowly with Urahara in the corner.

She blushed, realizing that she had been talking to her fairies longer than she had originally thought. They generally did status updates with her, alerting her to when they were done or if there was something further needed, but this was the first time she had been met with a situation like this. She would, however, think more on this later.

Orihime was oddly hungry and had no doubt the rest of them were too. After all, Nel was staring longingly at the sandwich in Urahara's hand.

* * *

**To answer a few questions: Ashido Kano isn't an OC character. If you look him up on the Bleach wiki, you'll see he was an actual character. He was supposed to appear in the manga, but was cut out due to timing issues. I have no idea what squad he was assigned to, but I found it worked in my favor to say he was from Urahara's squad and it does mention he's been missing for a couple of centuries hence why Urahara would know him. Forgive timing issues with that. **

**Misha: **Thank you! I hope it is and doesn't disappoint!

**Guest: **I'm sorry for the sudden HP feels but I couldn't resist including that! XD We don't know fully what's in Hueco Mundo so I like to assume there's a few dangerous plants in there and considering it's dark all the time, they wouldn't be bothered. I don't know what to classify Ashido as. He is, technically, an anime only character, but he was set to be in the manga. So is it almost-manga, anime-only character? That sounds like a mouthful. Thank you for the review! :D

**Guest: **Here is the next chapter and I honestly hope I didn't disappoint you with it! I had to rewrite this chapter numerous times before I got it the way I wanted. I've noticed that too, there's a lot of AU fics and I love those too, but this arc has so much potential for our favorite duo so I couldn't resist doing something with them. Thank you very much for the review!

**If I didn't respond to you, it's because you signed into an account and I reply to those privately (unless you'd like me to do otherwise)! If I didn't send you anything, please let me know and I'll check to see that you get one! I want to thank and reply to each and every one of you. **

_**Please Read & Review! **_


	4. Like A Rocket

_Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach._

* * *

**Like a Rocket**

Lunch had turned out to be a basic event consisting of sandwiches and chips. Nothing too special, but still filling nonetheless and she didn't even question how when Urahara pulled out cups of tea from nowhere. All she knew was that she gladly accepted the warmth the cup offered to her frazzled nerves, sipping it slowly to savor it.

She had the funny feeling this would be the last time she would get to enjoy a cup of tea – at least for a while. But she ignored those depressive thoughts, finding she was already emotional enough without adding more worries to her already long list.

And, at the tip of her list and thus in her thoughts, was Kurosaki-kun. While she didn't doubt Urahara when he said the orange haired boy would catch up, she just couldn't disregard the fearful feeling she had. Perhaps she was turning needy. It would explain why she was so desperate to have an idea of where he was since the whole thing with Aizen.

_Kurosaki-kun is strong, _her rational side pointed out. Funnily enough; that didn't make her feel any better. If anything, it made her feel more worried than before. Kurosaki-kun was strong, but he attracted danger like a magnet and while he could take care of himself, she really didn't want him to face it all alone. Isn't that why she had gotten stronger? So he wouldn't be alone with all this?

An uncharacteristic scowl formed on her face and her fingers tightened around the teacup, lowering it slowly to her lap. She then shook her head, freeing that expression from it and lifting a hand to rub her cheek. Scowling didn't make her feel better either, all it did was make her face ache since it had never made an expression like that before – she would probably have better luck trying to work with Sado-kun's exp-

"Sado-kun!" She exclaimed suddenly, hands flying to her mouth and teacup rolling from her lap to the floor, the liquid scalding her legs though the majority of it hitting the floor. Too horrified to recognize this, she turned quickly towards Urahara, leaning forward as though to get to her feet. "Urahara-san! We forgot Sado-kun! We have to go get him!"

"He'll be fine, Inoue-san," Urahara said, blinking when he realizing she had already been halfway on her feet. She hesitated at his words though, looking warily back at him with an argumentative "but…" already on her lips. From his sleeve came a fan that he used to cover his face before replying, his voice oddly even and, though she guessed it was her imagination, oddly reassuring sounding, "Sado-kun is strong - I have no doubt he's fine. He's probably already at our destination anyway!"

"There's a storm though! What if he didn't make it to the place?" She bit on her lip hard.

"I'm sure he did – like I said, it's not very far from us. Just on the other side of our gigantic mountain friend there," Urahara replied patiently.

"And what if he's just sitting on the hill waiting for us to get there?"

"Nonsense, I'm sure, if he was caught in the storm, he would find somewhere to hide out until it was over."

"So you admit that he might not have made it there."

"Oh, no, I'm fairly positive he did, I'm just trying to answer any inquiries you have," he chuckled, snapping his fan closed again. "Calm now, Inoue-san. He's probably safer than we are at this point."

Orihime bit on her lip, trying to think of something else to say. She was somewhat embarrassed by turning almost hysterical, but she was desperate to know that her friends were okay. Not being able to sense reiatsu from outside was making this more difficult than it should be.

Her thoughts brought another bout of questions, though this time she managed to ask them calmly enough, making herself focus on the task of speak and the menial job of picking up sand to count the tiny grains. "Why can't I feel them?"

"I beg your pardon?" Urahara looked at her carefully, eyes hidden by the brim of his bucket hat.

She chewed on her lip before replying. "I can't feel them. Their reiatsu, I mean. Why can't I sense where they are? I feel… cut off." Orihime sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Never mind, I'm just being silly. I must just be…" She didn't finished, unsure of how to finish it in the first place?

Was she tired? Was she broken? Was she just stressed? Any of them could work, though she was more inclined to feel like the sudden third option. Reiatsu was one thing she prided herself on being good at – probably not at the same level as Ishida-kun, but she was good at detecting it, and to think she was broken was unnerving.

"I'm glad you asked that, Inoue-san," Urahara said and she glanced up at him, somewhat sensing that he was smiling behind the teacup pressed to his lips. "Cut off isn't quite what I'd say you are, but that's a good way to describe it. This shield, or barrier, was specially designed for use in Hueco Mundo – or Soul Society, but it has much better uses here than there."

"Eh?" She blinked, glancing at the barrier. It had shifted hue throughout the day, something she had questioned, but found to be the least of her worries. Now it was just an orange barrier similar to the one she had seen Hachi-san use at the Vizard hideout.

"This barrier," he said, indicating to it with his head. "It's a Reishi barrier – now, there are a lot of those around, but the difference between this one and the others is this one is a cloaking kind. It puts us in the actual Reishi and because of that we can't sense beyond this area, though you'll notice that the area is seemingly lighter in here. As you can see, Nel seems to be more content now, doesn't she?"

Unwillingly, she tore her eyes from him to glance at the child, who stared back at her quizzically, obviously not understanding the sudden questions. Orihime smiled reassuringly at her before looking at Urahara. "Well, she does sound less hysterical, but… what does that have to do with the Reishi?"

"There's not a lot of Reishi outside the barrier. Something appears to be taking it, no doubt the Quincy we met when we first arrived has something to do with that, and so the hollows – or more precisely, the Arrancar- are hungry. Generally the Reishi in the area is more than enough to feed them, but since all the Quincy are taking it and leaving them little…" Urahara sighed then set his teacup down in the sand.

"Well, I can say they may very well revert back to their former hollow status, though I'm unsure whether they'd still have the same powers now or not. Testing isn't something I've managed to get around to in here."

Orihime closed her mouth, realizing her jaw had started to drop at her words, and her eyes were, without even her realizing it, looking at the tiny, former Espada. To just imagine young Nel as some mindless beast was frustrating and undeniably sad – Nel didn't hurt anybody, she was just a little girl playing a game of eternal tag in her home…

Just thinking about how the girl had been acting since she met her this time around, Orihime had to question what the other hollows were feeling about it. _This explains all the hollows in Karakura Town_, she thought, and hopefully Ishida-kun can handle all that by himself if more come.

"How long do you think they can be out there before it happens?" Ashido asked expression grim and she could only find herself agreeing with it. Things seemed darker than before. The last thing they needed was hollows incapable of reasoning with the power of an Arrancar… She winced just imagining it.

"It depends on a few things: how far they are from the Quincies, how long they are in contact, how powerful they are, how much Reishi they need. This time around, it's the lower level Arrancar who will have the advantage here. Hence why young Nel has managed to stumble around so long with only mild symptoms," Urahara gestured to the young hollow, who, despite being the third Espada, seemed to have her reiatsu sealed off while at this age.

Orihime fisted her skirt. "Urahara, I thought Ishida-kun was the last Quincy…"

He stared at her thoughtfully a moment before answering. "In a way, he is; the last one not to be after a bloody revenge like the rest."

She felt her lips twitch into a smile at that. "Ishida-kun certainly isn't warm towards the shinigami, but I don't think he'd hurt them unless they hurt him." She thought that was bold of her to assume, but it seemed true from what she had noticed about that.

"He and Kurosaki are pals, which is enough to prove that," Urahara agreed.

She nodded slowly. "But, why did the Quincy use Hueco Mundo for this? Why now? It would have been easier after Aizen was taken in while everyone was recovering, wouldn't it have been?"

He rubbed his jaw. "I'm not sure why they chose Hueco Mundo out of all the other realms they could have chosen, but I'm guessing this is the only one they had access to. It's easiest to get here compared to the others – they'd just have to follow a hollow through." His hand dropped as he regarded them curiously. "As for the rest, I don't know yet."

Seeing Kisuke Urahara saying those three words made her freeze a moment. Since she had met the man, he had not ever seen him _not_ known something and hearing him say that made her feel a thousand times more worried than before. She wouldn't be able to count on him for some brilliant plan that had somehow been an idea he had from the beginning to save them all…

She blew out a breath, nodding slowly, and sensed that the conversation was over already. Any other questions she may have were forced to the side at the moment, meant to be reflected another time when she actually figured out what they were.

The rest of their group had watched the argumentative silently at that point and Ashido was ready to speak up, either to change the subject or ask another question, when it happened. Before any of them could throw their hands up in defense, something slammed into the shield – hard. It shuddered at the movement, but continued standing.

Those seated on the inside weren't as lucky. Blown off their feet by a gust of wind courtesy of their attack, all of them fell in one direction or another.

Urahara fell back on his behind, bucket hat flying off his hat and away to land beside the flabbergasted looking Ashido with an equally surprised Nel sat on his lap, no doubt having been rescued by him. Orihime, back having been facing the attack, flew forward and hit her head on the rock that had the unlucky situation of being in the way of her head.

She rolled onto her back and pressed a hand to her forehead, ignoring the sticky liquid that was no doubt blood, and sucked in a breath. "Is everyone okay?"

She spoke a moment too soon though because the moment the others grumbled their responses it happened again. With more force than before, something slammed into the shield enough that she could feel flames heating everything inside and she felt sweat bead on her brow. She rolled onto her stomach and then pushed up to her knees just as the barrier shattered.

Sprinkling down were the glittering remains that were consumed by the harsh winds suddenly slamming against them. She was falling over again and coughing, but managed to fight against it and push herself to her feet, hands shield her face against the assault of both the storm and whatever attack had put them in the open.

When she could finally open her eyes, she was surprised to find that she couldn't see anything beyond the whiteness of sand swirling around her as the storm thickened enough it even dulled the attack. She tried to reach out, feel for the unfamiliar reiatsu, but everything was snapping and bursting and covering everything enough that she couldn't sense anything and she fell backwards again, pushed along the sand until she roughly hit one of the dead trees, striking her head again.

Orihime was struggling to stand, the area around her spinning so much that she couldn't find her friends let alone where she was. Opening her eyes only brought pain, as though she had decided to open her eyes under water, and she only risked doing it again when she could no longer feel the sharp prinks against her skin.

The world was starting to straighten itself when she was tugged off her feet and suddenly thrust into the air. Her hair fluttered around her face and poked her eyes or tickled her nose, but she couldn't find the energy to lift her hands and brush them away.

Sand pushed and stabbed against every available piece of skin, which was a lot with the way her shirt had ridden up, and it pressed so hard against her that she couldn't even move a limb. Not even to brush her hair out of her face or blow out a breath that seemed to be trapped in her lungs. She was suffocating, like she was being held under harsh, chipping water turned sand.

But she was moving. Higher and higher she went, shooting up like a rocket as the floor disappeared from her feet. Not being able to turn her head and see, she could feel Nel right next to her, screeching at the top of her lungs for her brothers or somebody,_ anybody_, to grab her hands. Orihime wanted to extend her hand and she did so, gritting her teeth while trying to fight against the sand attacking them so brutally.

"Don't fight it," came Urahara from above them and her eyes, the only thing unhindered by the crushing sand, glanced up to him, seeing him standing straight and calmly, one arm pressed against his side awkwardly with another locked on keeping his hat in place on his head. There wasn't a sign of fear on his face.

"B-but-"How could she not fight? She was being crushed alive and the higher they went, the tighter the pressure against her lungs until it felt like someone had dropped a weight on her lungs.

She forced her eyes to stay open and her mind to stop panicking, to force in deep breaths rather than shallow pants. But it didn't help, only succeeding in getting sand and, though she wouldn't admit this later, a bug or two that she had to spit out.

"What-what is this?!" Nel cried and Orihime felt something snag on her shirt, tiny fingers clutching the fabric desperately. Orihime wanted to answer the question, but couldn't find any words to do so. How could she explain what was going on?

As suddenly as they had been lifted and launched and throw around so carelessly, the pressure stopped and air, blissfully and refreshing like a glass of water, finally got into her lungs for only a moment. It escaped then when they fell; shooting towards the ground even quicker than they rose up and she could only question, against the black dots in her vision and the trickles of blood between her eyes, was why this had happened in the first place.

Mingled screams mixed in the air while she seemed to reflect her death by splattering morbidly against the white crystal sands. At least it was add a splash of color to this place that seemed to be like walking into a black-white-grey old television show.

But, whether luck or just instinct, there was a flash of orange and then she was spinning around, clutching around Nel so that her back hit the shield. She bounced, the air knocked into her lungs and right back out again. Beside her, there were thuds of her companions being caught as well and she felt her eyes water slightly, blinked back before they could trickle over and down her cheeks as she took in a breath slowly.

Puffs of sand clouded her vision as her companions rolled off and to their feet, the shield disintegrating now that their fall was broken. Startled, her throat parched, she coughed out, "Why is there so much sand?"

Orihime sucked in another breath, grateful for the air, and moved to her feet. Or tried. Her body screamed in protest and, despite being able to move while falling, she found her muscles locked; her limbs incapable or unwanting to move. "Oh no, I've turned into a potato."

"I can't move either," she heard Urahara reply on the right, his voice almost cheerful despite being incapable of twitching even a muscle.

"Neither can I," Ashido said calmly from somewhere on her left. She didn't have the energy to move, her lidded eyes only being able to watch Nel, who seemed too dazed to get off her, and having to blink to even keep them open.

Murmured words between the scientist and the new ally, if they could call him that, later and they were still on the floor, rocking on their backs like a turtle as they attempted to get to their feet again. It didn't really work and it got tiring before they stopped completely.

"Why are we sitting here?" Nel said. There was a plitter-platter of her footsteps against the sand, shocking the majority of them into silence.

"Nel, can-"Urahara started, clearing his throat and starting again. "Can you walk?"

"Hai."

"I see." He said something else, but she didn't hear it because, right then, she lost the battle with her eyes and everything that was happening around her disappeared, unable to be heard by her mind as it rested.

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With Ichigo, the walk was slowly coming to an end as they stood at the top of the hill, staring down at the giant crater in the sand that could have held a small city. There were boulders all around it, giant and white, the same color as the sand and hiding their destination from far off enemies should they approach, acting as a mirage to anyone who sees it from below.

But, from above, it kind of just looked like a camp fire with burning logs acting as the little sand dunes the people from below had used as homes. At the very least, he could see why it was called the fallen rock. There was a giant rock perched on the others, this one a harsh brown against the black and white monochrome of Hueco Mundo, and it shot up high, looking like a watch tower that was nearly as high as the mountain. Nearly.

He squinted, spotting the yellowish dome barrier that seemed to hover over it, just as Lilynette had told him about. Though, really, seeing a dome like that was a little surprising since most of the barriers he had seen were square or rectangle like. Well, except the one around Seireitei, that one had been circular.

_Okay, maybe domes are more average than previously thought._

"This is the Fallen Rock," Lilynette stated and Ichigo sweat dropped, resisting the urge to say that that was fairly obvious. Obviously they wouldn't just stop at the top of a hill to look at the view.

"Right, well then, let's go," he said after a moment of him awkwardly staying silent and collecting his thoughts.

Lilynette grunted her agreement and they turned on the crystallized hilltop, looking around for the path that could take them down the mountain without forcing them to go down the daredevil path of leaping as had been Lilynette's first plan.

"So are we there yet?" A voice said twenty minutes later as they awkwardly tried to get down the path, which seemed laden with plants snagging at their legs or loose rocks that fell when their feet stepped on them. It made things difficult when trying to carry a supposedly unconscious person down.

The same person who was speaking, his brown hair falling from his face as he lifted it up to glance forward after his nose came across a particularly harsh contact with one of the boulders they had dragged him over. He stared with bored, still continuing to lay limp, and the two stopped at his words, staring at him with expressions varying between fury and confusion.

"What the hell, Starrk?" Lilynette howled, aiming a kick at his abdomen that met its destination by pulling a choked gasp from Starrk's lips. Suddenly capable of moving, the man jumped away from her before her second kick, aimed for his ribs, and only managed to get caught in the shin. Which wasn't much better, but certainly less painful than it could have been.

"Have you been alive the entire time?" Ichigo asked slowly, vein twitching in his forehead as he considered whether it was worth it to throw him over the edge of the mountain and see if he survived as Lilynette had boasted about only a few minutes ago.

Starrk scratched his nose, pain fleeing from his expression in return for his normal blank and bored look. "The entire time? No. Most of it? Yes."

"Lazy bastard," the orange haired boy muttered, shooting him a dangerous look. He didn't have the heart to hurt him when Lilynette aimed a dangerous kick towards an intimate place that even had Ichigo wincing with sympathy.

Not enough to help him to his feet. He merely followed uncharacteristically silent behind the girl, moving much easier down the path and only stumbling once or twice now that he was no longer held back by dead weight. It also gave him a chance to appreciate the view.

This view of Hueco Mundo was different. The closer they got to the giant rocks and the barrier beyond, he felt a little better, a little lighter. The air seemed easier to breath, but that could have contributed to the forest so nearby that offered oxygen. Wait, did the trees here even do that? He frowned at the trees, trying to imagine them with leaves and doing tree-things, but unable to make it seem realistic.

He didn't bother to ask, coming to a stop on the path. So far, their trek had been downwards at a steady pace, offering them the chance to lean back and walk awkwardly down the path. Sometimes the bottom of his uniform would catch on a weird desert cactus, but that was the worst of it.

Staring down at the ditch in front of him now, Ichigo knew he spoke too soon. It went up like a ramp slightly, as though they were going over a boulder the ground had landed on, then dropped completely, where far below was just a patch of dirty, white sand and sharp, tainted crystallized rocks angled to catch anyone who fell.

"We can get over this easily, but…" _Why the hell is this here?_

"Eh, what do you see there?" She asked him without stopping and walking. She was going to step right over the edge and die a horribly gruesome death that he'd really rather not see happen. His hand shot out, wrapping around her elbow and jerking her back from the ledge she had been about to walk off of, her words not even registering.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

"What the fuck are you doing?!"

They both hurled at the other. He let go of her elbow, scowling at her for pulling such an idiotic move. Besides, he didn't think if she died like that she'd be purified and he'd really rather not have that on his conscience.

"I asked first," she said, hip jutting out as she spoke. His scowl deepened at her childish remark and he realized a second too late that he had actually said that out loud. A flying kick he didn't dodge went for his face, connecting with his nose.

A sickening crack and his head shot back, arms flailing as he tried to reclaim his balance before he slipped backwards off the ledge, a shout escaping his throat.

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**Next Chapter: Meeting Again**

I apologize for the delay in this chapter and hope to have the next one up sooner. But hopefully you guys enjoyed this one and don't kill me too much for the double cliff hangers - most questions should be answered next chapter so stay tuned. Read and review if you could! :)


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